Daily Content Archive

Word of the Day
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Article of the Day

Vending Machines Today, there are few things that cannot be purchased from vending machines. Most vending machines in the US dispense snacks, beverages, and other inexpensive merchandise, but in the 1950s, some airports featured life insurance policy-dispensing machines. In Japan, where there is approximately one vending machine for every 23 people, you can buy everything from live lobsters to iPods to underwear from machines. Who is believed to have invented the first vending machine and what did it dispense? More...

This Day in History

US President Truman Signs Executive Order Desegregating Military (1948) Expanding on 1941's Executive Order 8802, which prohibited discrimination in the defense industry, Order 9981 required that all persons in the armed forces be treated equally without regard to race or other factors. It also called for the establishment of an advisory committee to facilitate the implementation of this policy. The order eliminated segregation in the armed forces within years, though racism was another matter entirely. What historically black boot camp was eliminated by Order 9981? More...

Today's Birthday

Aldous Huxley (1894) Huxley was a British writer known for his works of witty and pessimistic satire, like Antic Hay (1923), which established his reputation as a novelist. In his acclaimed Brave New World, he envisions a nightmarish, scientifically controlled future society that underscores the dehumanizing aspects of technological progress. His later works reveal an interest in philosophy and mysticism. Though he spent much of his life in the US, he was repeatedly denied citizenship for what reason? More...

Quotation of the Day
A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words? W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

Idiom of the Day
peg it — To leave or depart very quickly or suddenly. More...

Today's Holiday

St. Anne's Day (2025) In 1650, a group of Breton sailors built a tiny frame church at the place where the town of Beaupré, Quebec, Canada, now stands. They wanted to honor St. Anne, the traditional name for the mother of the Virgin Mary and wife of Joachim or St. Joseph. The pilgrimage to her shrine in Beaupré is one of the major pilgrimages on the North American continent; Romanies from Canada and the United States also arrive to celebrate Santana ("St. Anna"). They camp on the church property, prepare a slava feast of special foods for and prayers to St. Anne, and visit their families. More...